Curriculum+and+Context+Prospectus

This page will serve as my outline of the major ideas and components of a curriculum document I will be developing for a Pre-k through Grade 2 curriculum centered on inquiry-based learning. Four components (basic idea, focus, scope and rationale, and context) will be addressed in order to help organize my thoughts.

I want to gain an idea and put into practice an inquiry-based learning curriculum designed for early childhood, namely grades Pre-k through 2. I want to develop ideas and activities (and possibly even projects) that can be implemented with children of this age. Through the process of designing a curriculum, my capacities as a teacher are able to be stretched and extended because it will allow me the critical time to ponder, formulate, and develop meaningful and pragmatic experiences for my students. It will also allow me to extend the philosophy of inquiry-based learning to the younger students, thereby cultivating the dispositions of creativity, inquiry, self-motivation and assessment, and many others during this critical developmental age.
 * __Basic Idea:__**

My focus for this curriculum will be specifically on the primary grades (Pre-k, Kindergarten, First, and Second grades) for the general music program. This focus is worthwhile for me because I want to know and discover ways to use this philosophy with the youngest students at school. I want to know what kinds of actions I can take as a teacher, and what kinds of activities are developmentally appropriate for students of these ages that involve inquiry-based learning. I feel that with students of the elder primary grades, the inquiry-based learning curriculum is able to be used in a more straightforward manner. With the younger students, I want to discover and implement the curriculum, which is bound to be less straightforward because of their stage of development, which is why I feel this focus is a “good fit” for me.
 * __Focus:__**

I want to design an organized framework for the Pre-k through grade 2 general music program. This will envelop four sets of curricula (one for each grade level) that are based on inquiry-based learning. The scope will encompass one year for each set. With this project I hope to narrow my focus to the elements that should be included in such a curriculum and what is developmentally appropriate to students of this age.
 * __Rationale and Scope:__**

The context in which I want to implement this curriculum is that of a rural, Central New York district that encompasses two elementary schools, for which I am the only general music teacher. Students will benefit from this new curriculum because it will allow me to begin the process of cultivating attitudes and dispositions within students that I will want them to have later on in their elementary careers. My particular setting, being a teacher in two separate buildings with two completely different sets of students and ability levels is rather unique and will give me the opportunity to work at different rates. I also have at least 5 sections of each class, which will allow me to really hone in on the actions I take as a teacher and a guide to facilitate student learning. However, the uniqueness of my situation also poses particular challenges //because// I am in two different settings. I need to take into account //all// ability levels of //all// 150 children in each grade. I also have different accesses to resources and space dependent upon the building I am in, which compels me to consider how I shape my curricula. I cannot deny certain students an experience that I can readily provide to others. My goal in developing this curriculum is working with this dichotomy to create a curriculum accessible and beneficial to each one of my students.
 * __Identify and Describe the Context:__**


 * These ideas will serve as my compass as I ponder, formulate, and develop this curriculum.